Wooding and Sider advance to main draw

MYSLOWICE, Poland (June 5, 2013)– Denise Wooding (in photo) of North Vancouver and Charlotte Sider of Ottawa won their qualifying match on Wednesday to advance to the main draw at the FIVB U23 World Championships in beach volleyball.

Wooding and Sider defeated Hana Treskanova and Barbora Pilatova of the Czech Republic 24-22, 21-15. Sider competed at the last two world junior championships, both held in Halifax, and placed ninth each time with different partners.

“It was a tough match to play in, but we accomplished our goals,” Wooding said. “We were always expecting a tough match; it is always hard to play in the qualifier because everyone wants to get through to the main draw. We knew it would be tough and that both teams would want it, but it is nice to win.”

The teams pushed each other point for point throughout the first set until the Canadian duo, who are both students at the University of Toronto, managed to find an edge. In the second set a vital service ace from Sider put the pair 12-9 ahead at a change of ends and despite the Czechs trying to spark a comeback, Wooding and Sider were able to keep them at arm’s length.

“I think you can never really lay back at all; when you have a lead you just have to keep pushing,” Sider said. “It is hard to control what they do, but when they were serving to me, all I had to think about was siding out and that was my only job. We can’t take control of what they do, so we just have to do what we can.”

They will join Taylor Pischke of Winnipeg and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Toronto in main draw action which starts Thursday.

Pischke and Humana Paredes had a bye to the main draw. They were fifth at the world juniors last year while Humana-Paredes won a silver medal in 2011 with Victoria Altomare.

Both Canadian teams main draw too

On the men’s side, Greg Simone of London, Ont., and Gabriel Burlacu of Tecumseh, Ont., lost 21-7, 21-12 to Gabriel Kissling and Mirco Gerson of Switzerland in qualifying however late withdrawals have put them in the main draw anyway. It was the international debut for both Canadians.

On the men’s side, Greg Simone of London, Ont., and Gabriel Burlacu of Tecumseh, Ont., were eliminated in qualifying losing 21-7, 21-12 to Gabriel Kissling and Mirco Gerson of Switzerland. It was the international debut for both Canadians.

William Hoey of Brampton, Ont., and William Sidgwick of Toronto had a bye to the main draw. Sidgwick, 21, has competed at the last to world juniors and the 2009 world youths. Hoey made his international debut at last year’s world youths in Cyprus.